Rangers Assemble
by Take a walk off my knife
Summary: Set 18 years after Starship. As the group reunite with each other bringing their own teenage children, what will happen? Will they all get along? Do old habits die hard? And what possessed Tootsie Megagirl to name his daughter Macaroni Cheese? TUp, Buguary, Megatoot and Spayonder. Hope you enjoy it! My first proper Starship fic, please review :)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 ~ The Gathering 

**A/N: Hey, so this is my first ever proper Starship Fanfaction. I hope you like it! I am open to constructive comments, so please if you want to see anything, please don't hesitate to review asking for it. This story takes place 18 years after Starship took place. This is based mainly on the teenage rangers but rest assured there while be a lot of their parents involved as well. Okay, explaining bit over, on with the story….**

The gym was as old and dusty as Taz remembered it. It still smiled of rotting old socks and Up's feet after a long and intense hiking exercise. It had that musty taste in the air that for some reason put a spring in her step. She had fought here. She had learned here. She had made friends here. It was like she was returning to her family home. She had more happy memories here than she did at her actual childhood home but she wasn't going to think of the now. She laced her hand with her husband as he smiled down on her. She would only ever act this weak in front of her family. If anyone else saw the way they were acting the person involved would be on life support. The puppy dog look he was sending her sent shivers through the duo behind them. _They're supposed to be the fiercest, scariest pair of Starship Rangers to ever exist and they act like a teenage couple in front of us. They're 40 and 48! They are supposed to be tough. Why did they have to be my parents? The famous commander Up and his wife Lieutenant Taz saving the universe with their tough sons-of-bitches attitude but when their only around us they act like marshmallows. _At the other end of the gym, the door swung op_e_n. Taz and Up jumped apart, replacing their stone masks. _There's the warriors everyone else sees. _

Through the door came possible one of the strangest sights she had ever seen. A tall, blonde, thin model type figure strolled into the room, her hand holding on to the claw of a shorter orange bug. _That must be that February and Bug. _Behind them approached a flying yellow bug and a tall, rather handsome boy with dark hair in a spiked up position. _Who the hell are they?_ Taz and Up strode over to the strange ensemble. Up raised his hand and shook Bug's claw. She held her breathe as she saw that idiot February try to hug her mother. _Big mistake number one. No public signs of affection. _However, Bug caught her before Taz had any reason to do any damage.

'Hey, where are my manners? Gus, Woodie? Get over here!' Bug called to the tall human and the flying bug who walked/flew over and stood beside him. 'Up, Taz. This is Gus.' He put his claw on Gus's shoulder, after Gus bent over a little. 'Full name August, aged 17 but you guys already know that. Dead-god it's just been so long. I'm getting forgetful in my age. And this is Woodie.' Bug pulled the flying bug to a stop. 'He is one of Roach's and the Overqueen's kids. He wanted to see the stars so as his god father, I said I could take him on. Three years later and he's still hanging about.' The orange bug laughed as did his family around him. _ What the hell is so damn funny? _ She turned as she heard her father speak. _Crap!_

'Ah bug, my oldest and dearest friend and Feb, it's been too long.' Up drawled. _Wait that isn't his tough voice, why does he sound nicer around these people? _ She halted in her steps as she heard him continue. 'That girl over there, try to walk away? That's Jaz. Jaz turn around this instant! Come and be civil! For looking more like me she sure acts a lot more like Taz'. Jaz's blood was boiling but she didn't say anything. _Stupid Dad with stupid rules. Listen to me. I'm in charge. You little and small and look more American that Mexican. _It was true she did look more like Up. She had light brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail and dazzling blue eyes. She spoke more like her dad and didn't have her mother's accent. Although she was the same height as her tiny mother and she was known to throw knives. Grudgingly she turned around, plastering a 'do not mess with me' look on her face and walked back towards the group. Up satisfied returned to talking. 'And he is Jay, short for Jason.' All eyes turned to the Mexican fifteen year old almost cowering behind some gym apparatus. _He is such a weakling. How the hell is he there child or my brother? He doesn't fight or argue, he just takes whatever you throw at him and turns it into a tears and journal writing exercise._

'He's a little shy.' Taz said failing to mask her disappointment. 'So what time are de others getting here?'

Almost on queue the next group arrived. _A country hick and a robot? Must be Megatoot. _It made her want to laugh that even in her head she was sarcastic. Taz shot her a warning look. _Better stop smirking Jaz. _ Megagirl obviously hadn't aged and the years had been surprisingly kind to Tootsie. Behind them was a teenage girl with medium length white hair pulled back in a braid. She had stunning sapphire eyes like her father. She was just a smidge taller than her mother. Without the hair it would be hard to tell she was half robot. She wore everyday normal clothes and showed no obvious sign of metal. Though Jaz would bet there was more to her than an everyday Human being. Again the parents reintroduced themselves and their respective children. Jaz tried not to laugh as she heard Tootsie speak.

'Command-dur. My name is Tootsie Megagirl and this is ma wife Ultrabeam Megagirl. Let me introduce to you. My pretty daughter, Macaroni Cheese.' Even for a robot Megagirl looked slightly annoyed at her husband's idiocy for once.

'We call her Mac or Macky for short.' Megagirl interrupted. 'My husband thought it was logical to name our daughter while I was unconscious from giving birth.' Tootsie smiled obviously missing the sarcastic tone that Megagirl had downloaded.

'You see, where I come from, farm planet. Your first name is what you do and the second name is what you love but on the Starship they need official thingy-ma-bobs and watch-a-me-call-its so I named her after macaroni cheese cause she was so small, and white that's what she looks like and I love macaroni cheese almost as much as I love noodles. But definitely not as much as a love my wifey Megagirl. That's why I changed my name to Tootsie Megagirl…' Tootsie drabbled on. _Will this guy ever shut the hell up? He's so stupid and so annoying! Does he have an off switch?_ Jazz looked over at her mum, how's faces was also tripping her. _I think mums going to kill him, oh this should be fun. _But Taz didn't get the chance to attack him as another trio entered the gym.

'Come on Krayonder, this way. You always make us late.' A familiar red head huffed pulling on the arm of her husband. Her face reddened when everyone present in the room turned to stare at her but she smiled. 'Hey everybody, sorry we're late, he always does this. He sits for hours planning what he is going to wear I swear it's embarrassing' Specs laughed with everyone else at Krayonder's discomfort. The loudest laugh came from behind the couple. They parted a little to let her through. Jaz caught a glimpse of a small girl probably a little younger than she was. She had short ginger hair in two pigtails sticking up from both sides of her head. Her outfit was multi-coloured and stood out because of the sheer contrast to everyone else in the room. Adoring her face where thin circular spectacles that reminded Jaz for some old wizarding movie she had watched as a kid. _Larry Plopper? Yeah something like that._

'Thanks man, just tell everyone how long I take to get ready. I don't sound vain at all!' Jazz was sure she heard Bug mumble, 'we would never have guessed' but she wasn't a hundred percent sure. 'Anyway you guys know who we are but she you probably won't know. This is Alana but call her Lana. Last time I called her Alana she went ape, man, and started using that scientific language thing again that only genius know about, man' Krayonder spluttered. _Deadgod does he always say Man? This is going to get old really quickly. Why did I have to come to this reunion? Why didn't I try harder to stay on the earth? Stupid curiosity, why did I say I wanted to come aboard their old ship? Why? _

Jazz was pulled from her thoughts as the Starship shook violently. The action threw everyone in different directions. Jazz felt herself fly through the air only to knock down her brother as she landed. She heard a loud crack and the sound of the engines turning off as she blacked out. _Great now we're crashing can this day get any better?_


	2. Chapter 2 Crash Landing

Chapter 2 ~ Crash landing 

**A/N: So I'm back again and rather swiftly. First off thanks to all who read chapter one! Special thanks to fortheGLOPA for following, and to PenMagic for reviewing. I promise to do better with my grammar this chapter! Okay, so this chapter has different POV as they are split up when they crash. Hope you enjoy it….**

_For the love of anything remaining holy, my fudging head! _She cracked one of her eyelids open only to slam it shut. _Ah! It burns. It's too bright. The sun is literally trying to scorch my eyes out! _Jaz made herself take a deep breath and stopped flailing around. _You are tough! Stop acting like a baby! It's only the sun. _She rolled on to her stomach and pushed her hands on the ground either side of her chest. The ground was rough and hard but had a softer grass layer on top. Opening her eyes for the second time she found the sun dimmer. Well, dim enough to open her eyes without any pain. Pushing herself off the ground she stood up. Feeling a sudden wave of nausea she immediately slumped back on the ground. _Why did I have to hit my head? Why me?_ As she sat on the ground with her head resting in her hands a worrying thought entered her brain. _I was with others on the Starship. Mum, Dad, Jay and those other Ranger freaks. Where are they? _Her head shot up and swivelled around, searching for any sign of life. There was nothing on Jaz's right and it spiked her fear. However out of the corner of her left eye she saw a shadow lying on the ground. Her fear spiked but at the same time she was slightly relieved as she recognised the body. She would know that body anywhere. It was her twin Jay.

Feeling less dizzy she steadily rose to her feet using a nearby tree for support. It was only as she felt the tree that she took in her surroundings. They seemed to have landed in some sort of jungle. The trees were at least four stories tall and towered over her. Above them through the large green leaves, Jaz saw a magnificent crimson sky that was washed over with magenta. It was simply breathe taking. _Look at that sky, all those shades. It's amazing. I wish I had my camera. No, Jaz, be tough. Starship Rangers don't walk around taking pictures of pretty skies and marvelling in its beauty, they bleedin' well get the job done! And that's want I'm going to do. I'm going to wake Jay, then I'm going to find my parents and then I'm bloody well getting off this planet. _Jaz now motivated strolled over towards her brother. Giving him the once over she reasoned he wasn't in any immediate danger or harm with his injuries. She kicked him hard in the shin effectively waking him up with a scream.

'Ow! My leg! It's in so much pain! My head hurts! The sun it's so bright! Jaz es usted? (Jaz is that you?) Are we gonna die? Where are mum and dad? Jaz I don't want to die! We're only fifteen…' Jay wailed. Jaz saw red. She never had any patience with Jay. He always complained about the situation and never helped think of a solution. Although she knew she had to reassure the little baby or else he would whine all night.

'¡Cállate! (shut up) We are fine Jay! The Starship just crashed. We just need to stay safe for now, then maybe later when you are stronger we will go try and find our parents…' Jaz stated through gritted teeth. He always pushed her buttons with his weak act. He seemed unsure at first but then nodded. As he pulled himself into a sitting position he thought he heard Jaz mumble 'Weakling', and from past experience he knew he was probably right.

…..

_We seemed to have crashed to some unknown planet. I wonder where we are. _She pushed her auburn fringe out her face as she sat up. Her large hazel eyes gazed logically around the scene before her. She seemed to be in a large field. Surrounding her beckoned a large, dark and dangerous looking forest. Further down the field she saw the white gleam of a robot. _That must be Megagirl. Mum told me about her. She's a safe robot as she has downloaded emotions that stop her desire to murder humans. She's mum and dad friend, as is her husband that country-bumpkin from farm world. Is that him? _Lana peered through her glasses, observing as Megagirl leaned over a body and roused it from its unconscious state. _If my hypothesis is correct, that is indeed Tootsie Megagirl. _Lana seeing no others began to walk towards the two adults as she felt this was the logical solution. She was only fourteen and she knew she couldn't survive on her own. Just before she reached them she heard a buzzing from behind her ear. Turning sharply around she watched as a yellow shape blurred past her.

…..

The last thing he remembered, he was falling from the sky as the ground and wind rushed towards his face. He remembered clinging on to Taz's hand but just loosing grip before impacting on the hard ground. He couldn't remember anything after that, only darkness. Dark thoughts swam around his aching mind. _Where were they? Was he a they? Was he alone? What if Taz, Jaz and Jay weren't there? What if something bad had happened to them? What if he was alone? What if they hadn't survived the crash? What then? What would he do? Could he go on? _Up shook himself. He didn't need to be thinking those sorts of thoughts right now. He had been in worse situations than this in his time and he was never going to give anyone any reason to call him 'soft' ever again. He plastered on his tough mask before growling as he pushed himself off the ground. He only growled to disguise the pained groan that the soft Up would have displayed. As he shifted himself onto his knees he heard the most beautiful noise in the world and he knew the world was a little brighter.

"Mierda! Jou have got to be kidding meh!"

…..

Krayonder was panicking, more than normal. He had opened his eyes on a cruel and dark world. The trees surrounding him looked menacing and evil. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where his only daughter was. But what he did know was that the Starship had crashed leaving everyone lost to him apart from his wife. Normally this would have relieved him greatly as she always knew what to do in a crisis. She would use some fancy scientific phrase and everything would be okay. However, she was currently slumped over on the ground not too far away from him not moving. He leapt to his feet and jogged across to her. When he reached her he crouched down. She was facing up at him. Her ginger curls had been left to grow over the past few years and they now trailed on her shoulders. He gently tried to shake her awake as he didn't want to startle her.

"Specs?" He called to no reply. He shook a little harder. "Specs? Oh, please wake up man" Nothing. He was getting desperate. He shook her even tougher "Specs? Specs? For dead god's sake wake up! Julia?" He only ever used her real name in emergencies. A tear leaked down his cheek as she unveiled her beautiful sapphire eyes to him. A sad smile appeared on her face.

"It's been a long time since I've been called that."

…...

"Feb wake up! Wake Up" Bug repeated into his wives ear while shaking her into consciousness. _Why have I to wake Up? Can't like Taz do that? Oh he means I've to get up!_ February opened her eyes to her husband's orange head, his bulbous blue eyes filled with concern. "Feb, Feb! We crashed! The boys! I can't find the boys or the rest of the crew!" Bug struggled to stutter out as he was hyperventilating. February may not have been the brightest, but one thing she was good at was taking care of her family. She was born to be a wife and mother. Her arm stung with pain she had accumulated from the crash as she wrapped it round her husband, effectively pulling him into a tight embrace.

"It's okay Buggy. We'll find them. We always do. Everything's going to be okay." She repeated reassuring even though behind Bugs back a lone tear streamed down her face. _Where are my beautiful boys?_

…

Mac felt herself being shaken gently. The tenderness of the way she was being shaken told her it wasn't either of her parents. Her father, although he meant well wasn't the smartest tool in the shed. He had tendencies to forget she was a girl and not an animal and would shake her rather roughly. Her mother was a robot and was not used to the whole sleep idea. Neither was Mac herself as she was half robot, but she understood more than her mother. Her mum would merely use a loud built in sound system to wake Mac up as it was most effective. No, this was someone who knew how to gently wake a person up. A sudden thought flashed through her mind. _But I don't know anyone like that? _It startled her. Her eyes flew open as she sat up. She was ready to plan an assault on her attacker, when she saw a large pair of blue eyes and black spiked up hair. _OMDG! I feel like I know him. He was on the Starship when in crashed. What was his name again? _She watched as him face relaxed into a crooked smile.

"Hey, my name's Gus. We didn't really get acquainted before the ship crashed." He held out his hand for her. She shook it. She didn't know why but she felt awkward. Here she was crashed on an alien planet, separated from her parents and everything she knew and she was just casually shaking some stranger's hand. Although, he didn't feel like a stranger. She didn't know if it was the adrenaline from the crash or the fear of being alone but she felt like she knew him. She felt comfortable enough to talk to him.

"I'm Mac or Macky. You can call me whatever you like, I don't really mind." She attempted to smile as she stopped shaking his hand. She didn't know why but she felt slightly disappointed that she wasn't holding his hand anymore.

"What do you prefer to be called?" Gus asked, ever the gentleman. That was the way his parents had raised him, to have manners. Mac thought about this. No one ever gave her a choice they normally just called her whatever they wanted.

"I honestly don't mind. Anything is better than Macaroni Cheese. Gone on, laugh if you want to, everyone does." She waited for a laugh that never came. _Well that's strange. Everyone laughs at my name. I've never meet anyone who doesn't at least smirk at it. Damn, my father sometimes. Why isn't he laughing? _Her own confusion mirrored his.

"Why would I laugh at your name? That's horrible and rude and they are two things I strive never to be. Your name is lovely but I understand why you would wish to shorten it, it is rather long." Gus replied innocently and then it hit Mac. _His father is a bug. He spent his childhood on bug world. He's probably never ever seen Macaroni Cheese. That's why he doesn't find my name funny._ She refocused her eyes onto him and realised he was waiting on a reply.

"Just, just call me Mac."

**A/N: I hope you liked it, please review! Until the next time ~ Takeawalk.**


	3. Chapter 3 Unspoken and Unheard

Chapter 3 ~ Unspoken and Unheard Are Long Forgotten

**A/N: Hey, I'm back. Happy New Year! So first off thanks for all the reviews and follows the make my day. Thanks to PenMagic, Big T, TUp shipper FTW, Gummy Bear, HarryPotterAlways11, and surfacingvendetta.**

**PenMagic: Thanks. I did really try to correct my grammar and spelling. I will try to keep it up!**

**Big T: Thank you! Only time will tell if Mac and Gus will get together. **

**TUp shipper FTW: Thanks and I will.**

**Gummy Bear: Thanks and here it is.**

**HarryPotterAlways11: Well, this is actually a long story that will be explained later in the story. I had planned to explain in a later chapter but briefly, Jay and Jaz are test tube babies. Anyway , stay tuned and I will explain fully. Thanks for the review.**

**Anyway, hope you like it, on with the story….**

_He is such an idiot! Jaz, I can't build the shelter can you do it, please? Yes of course Jay. I'll do that after I've finished building this fire. Only after I collected all the fire wood, and found clean water. Why don't I just do everything? _Something in Jaz snapped as she thought aloud.

"Do you want me to do a fucking jig as well? Are your wittle bitty hands sore? Did you just spend an hour finding fire wood? Or another half hour building a fire? Or did you find us clean water to drink so we don't die of dehydration? Can you do anything? Oh you're weak and puny! You're soft and lazy. Oh you can't get the fire wood because there might be some big scary squirrel in the forest and it might attack you! So what happened? I was forced to do it! Your little sister (he huffed at this, he was only older by five and a half minutes) has to do everything because little Jay Jay is scared. Dead-God you are such an embarrassment! How are you ever supposed to live up to our parents if you can't bloody do anything? They are the best dead-goddamn Starship rangers out there and they get you as a son? A man who can't even collect firewood because of the danger! What was going to happen? Where you going to stand on a hedgehog? Or was a dead leaf going to hit your precious little face?! I can't believe you sometimes! You know what just don't talk to me. It doesn't matter! I'll build the shelter as well! I'll be back later. I need to go get more wood." Her eyes flashed dangerously at him as she pulled her mum's switch blade out her pocket before disappearing into the trees.

Jay remained very still, stunned from shock, as the darkness crept in around him. He tried counting how long she had been gone. He reasoned it had been about fifteen minutes, she would be well out of earshot by now. He was alone. Completely alone. But he always felt alone, so he really didn't feel any change. As slumped further into the ground, he felt tears approach his eyes. He knew he should stop them. He knew he should try to be tough but any strength he had left him. He never had enough fight in him to stop them. If crying was the symbol of weakness then he was weakest thing in the universe right now. As fear and reality took over he began hysterically sobbing. He couldn't help it as he cried out his fears and sadness.

"S-she's right. I wish she w-wasn't b...b…but she is! I am weak! I am puny! I'm a wimp! I'm useless. There is no help for me. I'm not worthy to be there son. They deserve someone so much more. Someone feistier. Someone tough. Not me. Not little sappy Jay-Jay. Someone who when they see they think, I'm proud of him. I should be that person. I should be, but I not. I can't, that's not me! I'm soft, softer than a bag of marshmallows. No wonder they don't love me. Why would they? All three of them deserve so much more than me. She's right. She's always right. They are constantly picking up my slack. She always has done. I wish I could be more like her. Someone they could be proud of. Of course they tell me their proud of me, but I can see it in their eyes. When they look at me they are filled disappointment but when they look at Jaz its pure love and admiration. And I can understand it. She is amazing. They couldn't ask for a better daughter and I couldn't ask for a better sister. Whenever people meet me anyway they never think I'm the son of the Commander Up and the Lieutenant Taz. But when I see them as a trio I think, why do they need me? Would it be easier if I was never born? They wouldn't have to put up with me. It would be easier for everyone if I didn't exist…" Jay continued to cry into his hands, unaware of the shadow lurking behind him in the trees.

_Yup. It's official. My heart just broke. _Jaz sighed as she collapsed on the ground; a silent tear ran down her face. _Maybe I am too hard on him. I'm just trying to make him tougher. More like me. Why though? I'm not that great either. I hide all my feelings away, masking them with anger. I never tell anyone how I feel. The only thing I let my emotions out on is my punch bag back on the ship. Am I really much better? _

She could feel time passing, she needed to make a reappearance soon before he got too worried. _I need to talk to him._ Checking she had enough wood to build a shelter, she wiped away the tear on her cheek, straightened her grey tank top, black hoodie and cargo pants before re-entering the clearing. His face turned dramatically towards her as she dropped the wood at her feet. He opened his mouth to speak but she raised her hand and silenced him.

"No, don't say anything. I don't want to hear it. I've heard your apologies too many times." Jaz started and Jay looked deflated. She could see his eyes were filling with tears again. _I can't deal with him crying while I do this. _"Jay please for the love of dead god don't cry. You know I can't handle emotional people." He rubbed at his eyes furiously." She slowly walked towards him before sitting on the ground beside him. "We need to talk."

"A-About what exactly?" Jay stuttered uncertainly. He didn't want to be made feel any worse, although he couldn't imagine feeling any worse.

"About us, about our family. Right, I'm only going to say this once, only one time. So pay attention. I'm sorry." Jaz mumbled towards the end. Jay was confused.

"Jaz, exactly what are you sorry for? You only told the truth. I am soft. I know I am. Hell, that twig over there is tougher than me. You don't have to apologies to me. If anything, I should be apologising to you, to me and dad, for me. I'm a sorry excuse for a son and I know it…" Jay mumbled before he was interrupted by Jaz, who looked infuriated.

"You're not okay? Stop saying that! You aren't. You aren't. You aren't. When I said I was sorry it was for this. For making you feel like this. Sure, you're not tough but you're not a disappointment and you're definitely not a sorry excuse for a son. We all love you. Please, don't ever forget that. You know sometimes I wish I was like you." Jaz confessed. Jay was really confused now. Why would anyone want to be like him?

"Why would you want to be like me? " He asked as Jaz sighed.

"You can be yourself without the fear that your letting everyone down. You're not afraid to be yourself. In that way you're braver than me. I'm never myself. I'm always so guarded…" Jaz rambled. Taking a deep breath she continued. "You don't think I get scared? Right now, I'm downright petrified. We are in the middle of some unknown jungle on an uncharted planet. We don't know where our parents are and if they are alive. Trust me, I'm bloody terrified but unlike you I bottle all my emotions. I used to think that it was good to be like that as it made me tough and strong. But it doesn't. It just makes me weak. Too afraid to tell people how I feel. Instead I hoard my emotions before lashing them out on an unsuspecting victim, you or my punch bag. That's wrong. That's no way to live…"

The pair sat in a comfortable silence. After a while Jaz and Jay lay back staring up at the night's sky. As he lay staring at the bejewelled midnight sky with damp hazel eyes, he pondered the philosophical thoughts that seem to randomly appear when a person is trying to relax: What was his life purpose? What is the reason for his existence? All while trying to distinguish the different planets from the sparkling diamonds in the sky. Where were they? He wondered as he felt her pull her body closer to his. He was startled at first but relaxed as her head rested on his chest. She pulled her black jumper further over her body as she was starting to get cold. "Jay, I love you just the way you are." Jay smiled his heart warming as it filled with love. "And if you ever tell anyone about this, I will not hesitate to castrate you." They both laughed, that was the Jaz he knew and loved. Both felt better as they watched the stars, the pile of wood to build a shelter lay forgotten behind them.

**A/N: Please review. My next update will most likely be next Friday/Saturday due to homework as I start back school this week. Until the next time ~ Takeawalk**


	4. Chapter 4 Not Alone

Chapter 4 ~ Not Alone

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter as promised. As always thank you for the reviews, follows and favourites. In this chapter it focuses on Mac and Gus. It contains Darren Criss's Not Alone, which I of course I don't own. Okay on with the story, hope you like it….**

After their quick introduction to each other, Mac had found her feet. Looking around she realised they had crashed in a large meadow of some sort that was on a small mound which was surrounded by a dark looking forest. _They're out there, all of them. Somewhere, deep within that forest are my parents, Gus' family, and everyone on our Starship. _Unlike Gus, Mac wasn't as worried about her parents survival. She could sense her mum was still active due to her electrical signal. She was half robot and as such she could detect electrical signals. Normally Mac hated the robot side of her; it caused her so grief that she tried to drown it out. _Finally my robot half comes in useful. _ Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind and focused on a gentle pulse in the distance. She knew it wasn't her mum as she knew Megagirl's signal was on the other side of this additional pulse. _It's the crashed ship._ Realising what it was, she turned to a rather confused Gus.

"We need to head north" she stated bluntly before she disappeared into the trees, a dark shadow swallowing her. He didn't ask why, he simply rushed after her into the darkness.

In the forest it was surprising bright. It took less than a minute for Gus to catch up with Mac. When he reached her, she had a cold determined look on her face which reminded him of her mother's robotic expression. He was starting to worry.

"Mac? Mac? Why are we going this way?" he pleaded but she didn't respond. "Mac?" It was like she was caught in some sort of trance. He didn't know what to do. Was this some sort of coping mechanism? No knowing what else to do her grasped her wrist; maybe if she stopped he could talk sense to her? The effect was instant. The moment his hand touched her skin, her whole demeanour changed. Her stiff position dissolved, her face soften and she returned to looking more human. The robotic mask lost. "Mac?"

She stopped dead. Turning towards him, her cheeks flushed red and her eyes watered. _Stupid robot part. Why does it always take over!_

"Gus… I'm so sorry. Sometimes the robot part of me just takes over. I can't help it. It's like it has some sort of power over me, I didn't mean to scare you, sorry." She spluttered. _Why are you telling him this? You don't know him, he doesn't know you. It's not like he cares. _She was confused when he pulled her into a hug. She wasn't much of an affectionate person to the people she knew never mind a stranger. But she relaxed into the hug, she found it comforting, his arms were wrapped around her waist. Her head fell into the crook of his neck and he placed his head on top of hers. He lowered his head and spoke in her ear.

"It's okay, you don't need to apologise but do mind telling me why we are heading North?" He asked. She pulled herself from the hug and they started walking north again.

"Because that's where I believe the crashed Starship is…" Mac mumbled. Even though she wasn't really zoned into the signal she could still feel the light pulse

"Mac, how do you know that?" Gus wondered curiously. He wanted her to be telling the truth but he didn't want to be just walking around in circles. She took a deep breathe. He needed an explanation.

"Well, as you know I'm half robot. I normally try to ignore that part of me, but the truth is, in a situation like this it does come in handy. I pick up energy signals, that how I now where the ship is. I can also sense my mum's still active so we're not alone on this planet…" Mac explained and Gus nodded along.

…..

"Eye spy with my little eye something beginning with S…" Gus rhymed. Mac looked around their new surroundings. They had been walking all day, talking and playing games. Mac found it weird to think that 24 hours ago she wouldn't have known who he was. She felt like she had known him all her life and was comfortable around him which was unusual for her. Earlier they had discovered a stream and had followed it. Suddenly the answer hit her as she stared at the sky.

"Gus, that's easy. It's the Sunset!" Mac answered correctly. They both stopped and stared up at the darkening colour creation above them. It was a gradient scale perfectly blending deep violet and crimson, with small sparkling jewels scattered across the entire canvas. "That's something you don't see on Earth. It's beautiful".

"Stunning, what do you say we just set up camp here?" Gus suggested. Mac nodded. They were in a small clearing across from the stream but not too far from the trees.

An hour later, they lay on beds of leaves built by Gus, their feet pointing towards the fire which Mac had created from a fallen down tree. They made trivial small talk while the continued to stargaze. Both were captivated by the night's sky. It had completely darkened which contrasted with the petite glittering diamonds. After a while, Gus fell asleep. Mac could only ever sleep for four hours a day. It was another robot thing that annoyed her. She could only 'shut down' for about four hours a day. And because she was shut down for a while when they crashed she couldn't sleep. She never really got tired. Sure she slept but she never really felt exhausted.

After a while even the stars seemed to lose her interest. She was bored. Normally she would just go do something with her Mum at this time at night as she never slept but she couldn't do that. Her mum wasn't here. She felt tears prick at her eyes although she supressed them. She wasn't going to cry. Sitting up, she shuffled as quietly as possible towards the fire. As she warmed herself she began to sing lightly.

"I've been alone

Surrounded by darkness

I've seen how heartless

The world can be

I've seen you crying

You felt like it's hopeless

I'll always do my best

To make you see

Baby, you're not alone

Cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

Our love is all we need to make it through…" She was interrupted when she heard movement from Gus. Her singing had woken him up. _Why did I sing so loud? _ He pulled himself up and squinted his sleepy blue irises at her. Yawning he rubbed his left eye with the back of his hand. "Sorry Gus. Just go back to sleep, it's probably only like two in the morning. I didn't mean to wake you. I shouldn't be allowed to sing. "She laughed sadly looking at the ground. He straightened himself up and ran his fingers through his messy sticky up black hair. He smiled.

"You need to stop apologising. You didn't do anything. I don't mind being woken up by beautiful singing." He flashed her a winning smile and she turned her head, praying to dead god it was dark enough to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. No one had ever complimented her singing before, mainly because no one normally heard her.

"You think I sing beautifully? No one has ever said that before," Mac confessed. Gus looked dumbfounded, his expression illuminated by the crackling fire.

"Really? You have such a pretty voice and from what I heard of it that song was incredible, what's it called and who wrote it?" Gus asked genuinely interested.

"It's called Not Alone. I don't really know who wrote it. My mum used to sing it to me when I was going to sleep, or if I was ever upset when I was younger. But now a days I normally just sing it to myself, most of the time it's when I'm lonely or upset but tonight I just felt like I needed to be close to my mum. You know what I mean?" Mac asked while lying back on the leaf bed. Gus copied her.

"Yeah, yeah I do. I miss my family but I don't miss the Starship. Where else in the universe would you get a sky as clear and magnificent as this? I could stay here forever, just looking up at that sky," Gus admitted. Mac knew exactly how he felt. She found herself nodding as she answered him.

"Same. I could happily lie here forever. If I never had to go back to her everyday life, I would be over the earth's moon. Well, if I had my parents here as well. I really don't want to go back to Earth where people make fun of me daily because I'm a hybrid, because I'm different. Humans really don't like anything different, especially if it has anything to do with the 'toasters'. Do you know I've never even had a friend? Everyone makes fun of me, or is terrified that I'm going to 'zap' them. I can block them out but I've always really wanted someone to talk to sometimes other than my parents. No one likes me back home. They say I'm not normal. I don't fit in. They call me a weirdo. Do you know what it's like to be called a freak every day of your life?" Mac confessed. She didn't know why she'd just told him that. _Why did I do that? He doesn't care about my life, why would he? What a way to play it cool Mac. _ She frowned as she heard him start to proper belly laugh. She felt like he had just ripped out her heart. _He's laughing at me. _"What's so funny?" She huffed angrily. He stopped laughing immediately, turning on his side to face her.

"I'm the son of a human science officer and a bug from bug world. And the only reason I'm alive is because they fooled around when my father was in a brain dead human's body, yeah of course I do. I'm the bug freak, pleased to meet you. I know how you feel. You aren't alone. I guess I'm just lucky I spent most of my childhood on Bug world, and I've always had Woodie, who is actually a bug. Don't be upset, embrace who you are and show all those against you that you aren't going to let them keep you down. Always remember, you're not alone. How good am I? Quoting your song and everything. And when it comes to friends, if you want I could be your friend" Gus offered. They had grown closer over the past day. The more she thought about it the more she realised how much she enjoyed his company.

"I think I's like that, friend" Mac smiled.

**A/N: Okay, so that's this chapter. Please review for anything you want to see. Who you think I'm going to write about next chapter? Your views on Mac and Gus? Who's your favourite next generation of Starship ranger? I really don't mind. I will hopefully see you next week. Until the next time ~ Takeawalk x**


	5. Chapter 5 The Pit

Chapter 5 ~

**A/N: Hey, Omdwg guys I'm so sorry. I don't have the words to express how sorry I am for the lateness of this update. Recently my school has decided I don't need a life outside of school and coursework, so I honestly haven't had the time to write. Although, hopefully I will update both this and TSK at Hogwarts 2 sometime this week. However after this, updates will become even sparser. When my exams are over though, I promise to update regularly again but until then I'm sorry. Anyway, thank you guys so much for the reviews/follows/favourites/views. This chapter is for all you TUP shippers out there, it's sort of a filler but it gives some information on the history of the Starship crew also, hope you like it…**

'Argh! Up? ¿Es usted?¿Dónde demonios estamos? ¿Dónde están los niños? ¿Por qué está tan oscuro? Barco estúpido! (Is that you? Where the hell are we? Where are the kids? Why is it so dark? Stupid ship!)' Taz ranted in Spanish, which only confused Up more. He knew basic Spanish but even though he had known Taz for twenty five years, her rants were so quick and heavily accented he could barely catch anything she said.

"Taz, repeat in English please! My head is killing me." Up groaned as he slumped against a wall of rock behind him. He heard Taz sigh angrily.

"I said, where de hell are we? And where de fudge are de kids? Idiota" to a stranger she would have sounded harsh, cruel even but Up knew that was her cover for when she was scared and worried. Looking around he couldn't see very much. He could just make out Taz's outline. They seemed to be trapped in some sort of hole in the ground. Gazing up, he noticed the sky was dark. It was probably the early hours of the morning. He looked back to Taz, his eyes where adjusting to the dark. She was leaning against the opposite wall and staying very still. She was concentrating on staring at her right thumbnail.

"Taz? You okay?" Up asked warily. He was worried. Normally when he and Taz where on missions it was impossible to keep Taz concentrated on anything, she was constantly moving. Even when they crashed in the past, Taz had always been first in the crew to leap into action, and start using her survival skills. She never sat about. She hated people who did that. She said it was a waste of a precious moment. So, now as he watched her slumped body he started to panic. As fear was about take over, she raised her eyes and met his through the darkness, creating a fusion of chocolate and sapphire.

"Where are de kids? Dey where on dey Starship with us" She mumbled as a tear leaked out her eye. Her normal stone mask had disappeared. Up rarely saw this side of Taz anymore. He hadn't see her this venerable since she was a fifteen year old cadet at the academy. Within seconds, he crawled over to her, and wrapped his arms around her small frame. Taz allowed herself to be embraced for a few seconds before she threw him off. In the blink of an eye, she was on her feet and started pacing. Her voice growled in her own high pitch.

"¿Dónde están? Espero que los estúpidos quemaduras piloto automático en los pozos ardientes del infierno! ¿Cómo podría la chapuza nos estrellamos, nos interrumpía incluso en una misión! ¿Dónde están mis hijos? ¿Están bien? Aunque Jay sobrevive al accidente, él no sería capaz de sobrevivir por su cuenta. ¡Maldito sea! (Where are they? I hope that stupid autopilot burns in the fiery pits of hell! How the fudge could we crash, we weren't even on a mission! Where are my babies? Are they okay? Even if Jay survives the crash, he wouldn't be able to survive on his own. Curse him!) Argh! Where de hell are we?" Her voice built to a strangled feral cry as she kicked the hard rock of the stone pit. Tears started to cascade down her cheeks as she started to violently sob. Up watched as the women he loved started to break down in front of him, for only the second time in his life. The first time being her fifteenth birthday. He watched in disbelief as she started to claw at the walls. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't used to a distressed Taz. Angry Taz? Hell yeah, he had marks to prove that but a distressed Taz? For dead-god sake he was used to doing the crying not the comforting. He did the only thing that he could think of; he grabbed her wrists gently and pulled them away from the wall.

"Taz, stop that! You're gonna hurt yourself" He drawled in his Alabama accent. _Maybe if I act tough, she will return to her senses_. However, she strangled against his grip. Their eyes met in a hard stare. Taz looked nearly completely savage.

"Let. Meh. Go." Her tone was dangerous even for Up. _Then again she is Taz. _ This only made him grip tighter.

"No!" He said powerfully, standing his ground. "I'm not going to let you hurt yourself". This was not the answer Taz had wanted. Skilfully, she ran her legs around the small walls of the pit, turning Taz over Up's head. His arms crossed painfully and he was forced to let go. Although as Taz turned her back on him to face for the wall again, Up grabbed her from behind both arms wrapped strongly around her waist. As he yanked her away from the wall she began thrashing wildly, like a street cat.

"Tengo que salvar, me necesitan ... (I have to save them, they need me...) Let meh go Up!" Taz let out in a strangled wail of a cry. Up refused to let her go.

"Nah, Taz. I know they need us, but we need t'think rationally. We can't just start hurtin' ourselves for no good reason. D'you think that'll solve anythin'?" Up asked gently in his wife's ear. As he spoke he felt her body start to relax. She stopped thrashing and kicking and just let her legs hang. Up could feel his forearms begin to dampen with her fresh silent tears. She gulped before she spoke.

"They need us, and we're stuck in some hole, how is dat fair? Up jou can put meh down now, I promise I won't try to anyting" She spluttered. Up cautiously placed her on the ground again, worried in case she was lying. He turned her round to face him, placing his hands on her small but vicious shoulders, and stared into her doe shaped blurry eyes. It wasn't until moments like this that Up realised how small his wife actually was. To innocent bystanders she would look small and fragile but Up knew better. He knew that beneath her white tank top lay many battle scars, most of which he had seen her receive and consequently witnessed the death of any robot that caused one of her precious battle scars. From the way she was standing, her tank top was slightly raise revealing her stomach. Up could faintly make out the bottom of her oldest battle scar. It was a large wound from where the robots had tried to smash her open at her quinceanera. Oh, how he had enjoyed tearing those robots to pieces. "Up?". Taz's voice snapped him out of his daze.

"Taz? What's say we try and find a way out of here and find our kids, that doesn't involve ya shredding yer hands ta nothin'?" he drawled. She quickly nodded before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"Okay" she replied as she released him. _She did always have to have the final word. _

**A/N: So that's the chapter. Sorry you had to wait so long, and it isn't even that long. Hopefully I will be back soon with some more Mac/Gus and some Megatoot. Anyway, I will, with any luck, update TSK at Hogwarts sometimes this week so keep a look out for that. Anyway please review, and until the next time ~ Takeawalk. **


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